Joe Hardin Sr. (1-8-23) service 1-21-23

Joe Watkin Hardin, 86, of Baytown, Texas, passes away on Sunday, Jan. 8, at home. He was born on April 30, 1936, in Savannah, the son of Blackmun and Maggie Inez (Shelby) Hardin.

Mr. Hardin Sr. was a graduate of Central High School in Savannah where he played varsity basketball and football. He met wife Jeanette in high school and they married in 1960 after she graduated from Birmingham Southern College in Alabama. In 1962, he accepted a transfer from the Tennessee Gas Pipeline company to Tenneco in Pasadena, Texas. He served in the Tennessee National Guard before moving to Texas and retired as a shift supervisor from Occidental Petroleum in 1998.

He loved his family, never met a stranger, and enjoyed raising horses, fishing, golf and hunting. He made an excellent pot of beans and cornbread and was known for his amazing sourdough bread that he shared with family and friends.

He is preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Judy Ann; and brother, Jerry. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Jeanette Hardin; sons, Joe W. Hardin Jr. and wife Denise, Kevin L. Hardin and wife Shelley and Austin K. Hardin; sisters, Shelby, Beverly and Libby Hardin; brothers, Gordon and Tommy Hardin; grandchildren, Jonathan Hardin and wife Tonya, Ashley (Hardin) Middleton and husband Nick, Jacey Hardin, Anna Hardin, Jessica Hardin and Jennifer Hardin; great-grandchildren, Laura and Harmony Hardin; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held on Friday, Jan. 20, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Shackelford Funeral Home in Savannah.

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 1 p.m., at Memory Gardens in Savannah.